The only Orc with a happy ending
by Tatharwen315
Summary: Gorluk is an Orc (with the height and IQ of a seven year-old). But he is different from the Other Orcs because of his gentle nature, and his caring heart. When he is sent to spy around near the Misty Mountains, He comes upon a strange group of Travelers (who turn out to be The Fellowship). Having an interest in them, he decides to spy on them... (NO TENTH-WALKER NONSENSE)
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! This is my first fanfic, so please tell me how I am doing, and even send in some ideas!**

**Note: The first Elf that Gorluk sees is Legolas!**

**Enjoy!**

**Somewhere on the border of Mirkwood….**

Beneath the shade of the trees, a small party of Orc scouts were creeping silently through the forest….all of them were quiet, save one.

"GORLUK!" the captain bellowed, raising a hand for the company to halt. A squeak of fright was heard from one of the Orcs, and a very short one hesitantly stepped forward.

"Y-y-yes?" Gorluk stammered. He was hiding something behind his back.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop dragging your feet? And why do you keep stopping? This isn't the time to be acting sluggish!" the Captain barked.

"I-i-if you must know…" Gorluk looked down at his feet. "I was….."

"SPIT IT OUT!"

"I was picking flowers!" He got them out to show the Captain (who's jaw had dropped in disbelief). "It's such a rare thing to see around this time of year so I thought..."

"FLOWERS?! I can't believe it! We need to get out of this wretched forest by nightfall, and you're here frolicking in the grass like there's no tomorrow! I swear, if the chief finds out we're late…"

The Captain continued raging like this for what seemed like hours, while poor Gorluk stood shaking like a young tree in a wind storm. The other Orcs that stood watching were silently laughing to themselves. They knew that at any moment, the Chief would grab his sword, and then, BAM! Gorluk's head would fall to the ground, and they would never have to deal with that little runt again. But a few Orcs began to look around at the trees. Surely some Elf would hear what was going on, and they would be discovered?

The Captain paid little attention to how loud his voice was becoming. As he began to pace back and fourth, his hand began to creep towards the hilt of his sword. The closer his hand got to his weapon, the bigger the grins of the other Orcs became. The moment they had all been waiting for was approaching….

Gorluk knew exactly what was about to happen too. He knew how much the other Orcs hated him, and how badly they wanted to get ride of him. He had even overheard an Orc say at camp yesterday that _"I've never seen that Gorluk scum kill a single thing in his life! He's worthless,_ _that's what he is!"_ Maybe they were right.

"SCUM! WORTHLESS RUNT! I KNEW FROM THE MOMENT I SAW YOU HOW SOFT YOU ARE!" The Captain's voice was getting louder now, which interrupted Gorluk's gloomy thoughts. "YOU"RE PROBABLY NOT EVEN A REAL ORC! YOU'RE JUST A NASSSTY LITTLE RABBIT!" He grabbed his sword and drew it out. The other Orcs showed a look of joy on their faces. The moment they had all been waiting for had arrived.

The Captain raised his sword in the air, about to slice off Gorluk's head. All Gorluk could do was close his eyes. But a miracle happened. An Arrow came, flying through the air, and hit the Captain right between the eyes. He fell to the ground, dead. More arrows came. Five more Orcs got shot. "ELVES!" one of them growled before getting shot twice in the chest.

Gorluk, who had his eyes closed the entire time, finally opened them to see an arrow go flying past his ear. "EEEEEEEEEIIIIIK!" he squealed. He ran under a bush to hide.

Strangely, luck seemed to be with him that day, for the Elves took no notice of him. Gorluk heard a clear Elvish voice shouting to the other guards, and suddenly a tall Elf dashed into the clearing followed by at least ten other warriors. Gorluk's eyes widened when he saw the Elf. He was still shouting orders to the rest of the Elves, and the only word that Gorluk could recognize was _"Yrch!" _He knew that _Yrch_ was Elvish for _Orcs_, and when he heard it, he grew more afraid.

_They're going to kill us all!_ He silently wailed to himself. He new that just moments before he was going to be killed anyway, but that seemed better than having two near-death experiences in one day!

The remaining Orcs began to run as fast as they could into the forest, and the Elves ran after them. That left Gorluk all alone. He sat under the bush and thought silently to himself (Which is the last thing anyone would expect to do when they loose all of their comrades, and end up lost in a forest).

He thought of that Blonde Elf that seemed to have been the leader. Gorluk realized that he was the first Elf that he had ever seen in his life. Gorluk knew that Orcs were originally Elves that had been mutilated near the beginning of the world, but he had just assumed that Elves were just like the Orcs. But by seeing that Elf, he realized that he was wrong. He had not laughed wickedly every time he had shot an Orc the way Orcs do. He didn't seem to enjoy killing. It could have been that he had to kill to protect the people of his realm.

Gorluk thought of his own people. Why weren't they like the Elves? Why couldn't they just care for one another the way he could, and be good people? Deep down, he hated who he was and was supposed to be. Orcs aren't supposed to love beautiful things. And they were definitely not supposed to pick flowers, it seemed.

_Could it be possible to be born in the wrong body?_ He always felt that way. He just felt that he could never fit in with the other Orcs, nor did he want to either. All these thoughts passed through his mind as he began to grow drowsy, then fall asleep.

**Please send a review…. Please, even if it's a bad one, I just want to know what you guys think!**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hi! Thanks for sending me in some of your reviews! In response to some of your questions, I will say this: There Is DEFINETLY NOT going to be romance of any kind featured in this story. And also, I'm creating this story based from the books, not the movies (or at least attempting to). **_

**This is chapter two everyone, so I hope you enjoy it!**

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_**Five months later…..**_

Gorluk's head was spinning with exhaustion. His stomach was growling too. _Why me? _He thought to himself for the one millionth time. But he knew exactly why. After his comrades had been attacked by the Elves, and he had randomly fallen asleep, another group of Orcs found him the next day and brought him back to the camp to be questioned by the chief. The chief frowned as Gorluk told the story (but he didn't tell him that he had been picking flowers), but his eyes widened in surprise when Gorluk told him that the Elves didn't see him.

Since everyone quickly guessed that it had been Gorluk's fault that the Elves had found them, he was practically banned from scouting. But the Chief insisted that because of his short height, and his ability to hide unnoticed, that he get a more dangerous job: _spying. _

Spying was a thing that Orcs didn't usually try. But out of the east, in the dark land of Mordor, rumors of war were brewing. The great eye didn't want any of the free peoples of Middle Earth to know of his plans, so he ordered for spies to be sent to the north and westward roads.

But the Orc captain decided to send Gorluk in another direction. He hadn't really trusted Gorluk, so he sent him to spy around the Misty Mountains, where it was least expected for Men or Elves to be found. He didn't give Gorluk much instruction before he left. All he said was _"if you find any suspicious people wondering about, try to find out their business! If they're really up to somethin', find out what and report back to me! But if you can't….. Then you might as well not come back at all."_

For all Gorluk cared, spying was a pain. He wondered about the Mountains everyday, but not a soul was to be seen. Very soon, the air grew cold and winter came in quickly. He was hungry all the time, because he was trying to ration his short food supply, which was nothing but maggoty bread. He was miserable.

One day, Gorluk was leaning against a tree, trying to count how many days he had spent in the mountains (In which he lost count at 93). He had practically given up on spying, but he new that he couldn't go back, remembering the words of the captain: _But if you can't... Then you might as well not come back at all. _

He looked into his bag. He only had enough bread for two more days, which shattered his hopes completely. He was exhausted. His stomach growled louder this time. He shivered in the cold. Gorluk never felt so alone in his life. "Why Me?!" he wailed out loud this time.

But suddenly, he stopped. He raised his nose up to the air and he sniffed. Someone was cooking something over a fire. As if by madness, he jumped to his feet and bolted towards the smell. Soon, he started to hear people talking.

_Finally!_ He thought to himself. _Someone I can spy on!_

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**Sorry I had to leave that big of a cliff-hanger! I know that Sauruman had already created spies, that seemed to be half-man and half-Orc, but I just wanted to add a slight twist, you know? I know that this chapter seemed short, but chapter three will come a lot sooner than you think! Send in some reviews, and maybe some ideas…. Please? PLEASE!?**


	3. Chapter 3

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Gorluk ran faster. He began to make out what the voices were saying. "Sam, hurry up! Merry and I are starving!" he heard a young voice shout. "You'll get your food soon enough, Mr. Pippin!" An irritated voice snapped back.

Gorluk slowed down. He crept closer quietly and hid beneath a clump of bushes. And that was when he saw the strangest creatures he had ever seen. One of them was stooped over a fire, while two others sat nearby. _What are they? _He thought, completely puzzled. They weren't Orcs, that was obvious. But they definitely weren't Elves either, because of their short height. They seemed shorter than Gorluk himself! Gorluk thought harder. They didn't seem to be men. _Are they children? _No, they seemed full grown somehow. _Are they Dwarves? _Not that either, these creatures didn't have any facial hair. _Wait… _He started to remember something. Hadn't he once heard a story about…. _Halflings! _Gorluk thought. He always assumed that they were a myth, but these strange creatures seemed to fit the description: _Two to four feet tall, wooly feet, with little to no magic about them…._

Gorluk looked up startled as more people appeared. He saw two men walk into the clearing and sit down near the fire. Next, an old man with a staff walked by and sat down on a log. He took out a pipe and began to blow smoke rings. There was something strange about him, but Gorluk couldn't grasp what it was. Another 'Halfling' showed up and sat next to the old man. They talked together quietly, but Gorluk couldn't hear what they were saying.

Gorluk counted them all, starting with the Halflings. _Four Halflings… Three men, including the old one… Seven. Could that be all of them? _He hadn't seen this many people travel together for months (He hadn't seen anyone for months actually). They definitely seemed suspicious. He heard heavy footsteps approach. _There's more of them?! _But he was more surprised with what he saw next. A DWARF walked by, and seemed to pace back and forth around the camp. Gorluk glanced nervously at the axe hanging from his belt, and reminded himself to stay quiet, or else he'd end up with the axe swinging towards his neck.

"What would be the matter Master Dwarf?" The taller man asked the pacing Dwarf. The Dwarf looked up and growled. "I dislike this place! Not a creature to be seen, but everyday I feel like I'm being watched every second!" He scratched his beard. "There's bound to be some spies of Sauron lurking around!"

Gorluk nearly squeaked with fright, knowing that the Dwarf was indeed correct.

The Man seemed to agree with the Dwarf. "I have been in the country of Hollin in many seasons," the man said. "No folk dwell here now, but many other creatures live here at all times, especially birds. Yet now all things but you are silent. I can feel it too. There is no sound for miles about us, and your voices seem to make the ground echo. I do not understand it."

Gorluk suddenly heard a clear voice speak for the first time. "But what do you guess is the reason? Is there more in it than surprise at seeing four Hobbits, not to mention the rest of us, where people are so seldom seen or heard?"

Gorluk nearly froze. That voice came from none of the people that he could see, but the part that alarmed him the most was that the voice sounded familiar. He heard light footsteps, and a tall figure stepped into the clearing. Gorluk couldn't see his face through the bush he was hiding in, but he guessed that he was an Elf.

"I hope that is it," the man responded. "But I have a sense of watchfulness, and of fear, that I have never had here before."

The old man sitting on the log stopped smoking and looked up. "Then we must be more careful," he said. "If you bring a Ranger with you, it is well to pay attention to him, especially if the Ranger is Aragorn!"

Gorluk realized that this company was more on their guard then he realized. He had seen Rangers before, and knew that they wondered through the wild, fighting against the 'evils' that lurked about. He began to grow even more afraid. He knew that he needed to leave quickly, and quietly, as possible.

But Gorluk felt reluctant to do so just yet. He had been so lonely for months, and they were the only company that he had ever seen for so long. _It's my duty to know what they're doing here anyway _he thought.

And so Gorluk made up his mind, and decided to stay where he was until nightfall (the sun was already starting to set anyway). He watched the travelers and listened to them attentively, hoping that one of them would say another hint about their mission. But they didn't talk much amongst themselves much, except for the Halflings of course. The Halflings, or 'Hobbits' as the Elf had called them, talked to each other cheerfully, and laughed long and hard when one of them cracked a joke. Gorluk listened mostly to the Hobbits, but for a moment he glanced at the others to see what they were doing. He looked at the men, who mostly sat around smoking, and then he watched the Dwarf, who was still pacing about grumbling, and then he looked at the Elf. Gorluk was also able to see his face.

When he saw the Elf, his jaw dropped. He blinked and rubbed his eyes. He knew exactly who it was. _It's him!_ He thought with fear. It was the one that he had seen on the border of Mirkwood! The one that shot his comrades! He started to panic. He had seen how dangerous that Elf was. Good or bad, he knew that the Elf could kill him more easily than any Dwarf or Ranger put together! But a thought suddenly dawned on him. He could have been the one that had shot the Captain before the Captain had chopped off his head. So did that mean that the Elf had non-intentionally saved Gorluk's life?

That seemed to calm him down a little. But Gorluk still didn't want to take any chances. Once it began to grow dark, Gorluk slunk away from underneath the bush, and crept away from the group as quickly as he could, until he could no longer see their fire.

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**Ok….. So maybe that chapter didn't come as quickly as I had planned. I really appreciate the reviews! I'll stop begging for them too! :) **

_**I guess some of you may have noticed the conversation with Aragorn and the others was taken out of the books. I will do that often, but I will change the quotes to make them more my-writing-style-ish. If some of you consider this stealing, then all that I can say is that what I'm creating is not a parody. It's the same story, but it's with a new character that has an adventure of his own, if you know what I mean.**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Allow me to start Chapter four off like this: I AM SO SORRY FOR TAKING A LONG TIME TO UPDATE. I've recently had Surgery, so it's taken me a while to recover. But I reassure you that I'm better now, and I'm back to typing Chapters for my story. But another issue I'm having is that I have extreme writers block. Any ideas I will greatly appreciate and consider. Hope you enjoy!**

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_**Later that night...**_

Gorluk tried to stay away from the travelers as much as possible. But he couldn't fall asleep that night for a number of reasons: one) it was unusually chilly that night, two) he was afraid of the creatures that the tall man had mention earlier (even though Gorluk hadn't seen a single creature throughout all the months that he had been wondering the misty Mountains), and three) he was most of all afraid that the travelers would leave during the night without him noticing, and he would be lonely again. Gorluk felt tempted to check to see if the group was still there. So after shaking away his other fears of getting caught, he scurried off to find them once again.

The moon hung high in the sky when Gorluk reached their camp. Almost everyone was asleep, except for the bent old man that seemed to be keeping watch. His back was to Gorluk, but Gorluk could see that he was blowing the most magnificent smoke rings he had ever seen. The smoke rings would drift around in circles at first, but then they would hover over his head before fading away. One smoke ring floated so close to Gorluk's nose, he had to do his best to keep from coughing or sneezing. Suddenly, one of the Halflings sat up and turned to the old man. "Gandalf, what time is it?" he asked in a sleepy voice.

"It is midnight Frodo," the old man responded. He slowly stood up and sighed. "And I think that it is time that we move on from this place. Hollin is being watched, so we must leave as quickly as possible." He proceeded to wake the others, and soon they were all packing up their belongings.

Gorluk could do nothing but hide behind a bush, and watch in pain as they prepared to leave. They were the only real company that he had for such a long time, and after listening so well to their conversations, he felt that he knew something about each of them. An idea suddenly hatched into his mind. What if he could follow them? He could try to watch over them the best way he could, because they already felt like friends to him. But then he thought about what the Chief would say to that. Would he think that Gorluk wasn't doing his job? But Gorluk had to remind himself that spying and following people around was his job anyway, and that this was the same sort of thing.

Half an hour later, as the company set out for another long walk by night, none of them seemed to notice a small and curious shadow scuffle after them.

_**To be continued…**_

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**Yeah, I know, that was an extremely short chapter. But as I said before, I'm back to continuing on with this, so this will be updated more often. Thank you so much for the positive reviews, may God bless you all!**


	5. Chapter 5

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Gorluk had made a decision to follow them until they walked out of the Misty Mountains. But Gorluk would never realize until later that his choice would change his life forever.

Gorluk followed them for three nights strait. They air grew more chilly as the wind blew into the east, but ever more slowly their road wounded up into the hills, and Gorluk knew that they were meaning to go through the mountains. Gorluk thought that their idea to go _over _the mountains was completely ridiculous, but then again, the travelers somehow knew that they were being watched. What better way to stay away from spies then walking somewhere that they would never want to follow? But Gorluk had a thicker skull than that. It would take more that snow and a little wind before he would turn away from them!

On the third morning, the mountains loomed menacingly before them, with snow tipping their mighty peaks. Gorluk gulped, and realized for the first time that there was more snow on the mountains then he thought. But he didn't have to worry about that at the moment, for the travelers were finally stopping to rest. Gorluk had almost forgotten how tired he was, so without even thinking he threw himself to the ground, and at once went into a deep sleep.

When he woke up again, he immediately stood up and looked around frantically. _How long have I been asleep?_ He thought to himself. It seemed like late afternoon, for the sun was beginning to set. His jaw dropped in horror as he realized that they had already left. "You fool!" he wailed to himself. "You should have been more careful!" he ran around in circles for a bit, but seeing that useless, he gave up and sat on the ground and began to cry. Gorluk had always been known to be very sensitive, and it seemed that he cried for a very long time. As the rays from the sun began to fade, one particular streak of sunlight hit a part of the ground that seemed muddy. Gorluk glanced at that part of the ground, and jumped up with a cry.

"Foot prints!" he laughed to himself like he had gone mad. "Foot prints, foot prints, foot prints, how could I forget about foot prints?!" He jumped up and pelted though the trees, trying to follow them to see where they went, laughing hysterically as he ran. He never thought once that he was starting to sound completely insane.

But his sanity was restored once he started hearing voices in the distance, and he remembered to stay quiet. The travelers had not gotten far, for almost as soon as they left, their road had become blocked by many fallen stones, and they were doing their best to get around them. Their progress was slow, but they were getting higher and higher up the mountains.

When it had grown dark, the travelers laboriously climbed up a sharp slope and stopped for a few moments. Gorluk was not far behind, but he was doing his best to climb over the large boulders and not fall. He also stopped, and as he looked up he felt something blow into his eye. He rubbed his eyes and saw small snow flakes beginning to fall.

The travelers moved on once more, and all Gorluk could do was groan and quickly follow after them. As he climbed higher, more and more snow flakes blew into his face, until he could barely see the others. This seemed like the worst snow storm he had ever been in. The wind howled, the snow flakes pierced his face and swirled into his eyes, and if he stood for a few moments, the snow would burry his feet. He looked at the travelers and realized that they were also suffering. The dwarf (that in other conversations Gorluk heard, they called him 'Gimli') grumbled and cursed loudly, the Halflings huddled together and shivered like frightened rabbits, and the old man that was leading them had snow piled over his hat and shoulders. The others seemed equally miserable, but they labored on.

Gorluk's yellow jagged teeth began to chatter, and the snow began to pile up to his knees. He began to wonder if the group would keep going, or turn back.

Suddenly, they all heard a noise and stopped. Gorluk didn't know whether or not it was a trick of the wind blowing against the cracks and crevices of the rock wall, but it sounded like shrill cries and wild howls of laughter. As they all listened, they began to hear the sound of large boulders rolling near the top. Gorluk became very afraid.

At once, the travelers began to talk amongst themselves. Gorluk couldn't hear what they were saying because the wind was howling in his ears, but they seemed to be deciding what to do next. They spoke urgently amongst themselves for a few moments, but then they stopped talking and huddled against the cliff. Gorluk didn't hear whether or not a decision was made, but he could guess that they were starting to regret coming this way.

They sat there for what seemed like hours while the wind blew around them, and it wasn't until the storm grew worse that they all agreed to light a fire. First the Dwarf tried to light it, but the wind was making it difficult. Next the Elf tried to give him a hand, but all of his attempts failed too. Gorluk frowned as he watched them, wondering why they were even trying. But then the old man came forward. He held a stick in his hand for a few moments, but suddenly he shouted with a word of command _"naur an edraith ammen!"_ and there was a flash of blue and green flame, and a fire started.

Gorluk's jaw dropped in amazement. What the old man had done did not seem natural at all. He watched with wonder as the others started to warm their hands. None of them seemed surprised at all! _Who is he? WHAT is he? _Gorluk thought to himself. It didn't seem like witchcraft to him (even though Gorluk didn't even know what witchcraft meant at the time). He thought back to when he was in Mirkwood, and he remembered something he heard the other Orcs talking about one day. They seemed to be talking about someone who was powerful that lived near the edge of the forest. Someone who appeared old, but carried a magical staff. Gorluk struggled to remember what the Orcs had called him, until it finally popped into his head: _Wizard._ He remembered that they went on to say that there was more than one of them as far as they could tell. Gorluk wondered if the old man could be a Wizard too.

But then Gorluk started to become more concerned whether or not he could survive the night. He sat huddled in a large crevice against the rock wall, fifty feet away from his new friends. He stared enviously at their warm fire. There they sat, warming their hands and not speaking, while he was trying to see if he could still feel his fingers. He was smart enough to know that one should never fall asleep outside during a blizzard, but he was starting to become dangerously drowsy. His body had already become weak from his lack of food, and he was starting to loose his concentration. Just as he was about to drop his head for good, the sky began to light up. Taking it as a sign, Gorluk used the strength he had left to poke his head out of his hiding place.

The travelers seemed busy. The snow had finally stopped falling, but two of the men were busy trying to plough through the snow on the ground. Gorluk watched as they dug there way through. In some places where the snow reached to their chests, they appeared to be swimming. _They don't give up, do they? _Gorluk thought impressed. Last night Gorluk felt certain that they were all going to turn back, but now it seemed that they had become more determined then ever. But Gorluk frowned, for as the day grew lighter, he saw that the two men had only dug about ten feet forward. It was going to take a long time for them to get anywhere.

It seemed like hours had passed before the two men could be seen like specks in the distance. They eventually passed out of sight. Time dragged on. The Halflings sat together silently. Gorluk watched them with pity. Even though they seemed full grown, they reminded Gorluk of baby birds that just fell out of their nests. He could recognize an expression that they each shared on their faces, and that was homesickness. He felt that way all the time.

Gorluk was interrupted by his thoughts when he heard the voices of the two men returning. He couldn't exactly hear what they were saying, for the wind had become strong again, but their voices sounded hopeful. Gorluk watched as the men picked up the Halflings and started to make their way back through the passage that they had created. The rest of the company followed until they all disappeared through. Hesitantly, Gorluk waited a few minutes until he also passed through in pursuit.

After dashing a hundred yards, he caught up with the travelers. The path had become wider, and the snow had waned to only three feet high. All was starting to become hopeful.

But that hope was cut short when suddenly, there was a deep rumble and snow and stones rolled down from the cliff above them. The snow nearly buried them, but it buried Gorluk entirely. He couldn't see a thing, but he could hear the frustration from one of the travelers. "Enough, enough!" cried the Dwarf. "We are departing as quickly as we may!" It sounded to Gorluk that Gimli was talking to the mountain itself.

"We must go down at once. Not even on the knees of Caradhas will we wait for another night-fall!" Gorluk could hear the Wizard say.

Gorluk could hear footsteps as the group walked passed him, completely unaware of him underneath the large mounds of snow. Gorluk poked his head out and watched as they walked away, defeated.

"Why am I not surprised?" Gorluk muttered.

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**Well, I guess that I rushed a little too quickly with that chapter… I promise that in the next chapter, it will be more action-packed (And more screaming coming from Gorluk). I can't wait! **


	6. Chapter 6

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_**Evening….**_

It wasn't until they had reached near the bottom of the mountains that they finally stopped for the night. Gorluk's legs were aching from stumbling over rocks and snow, and he was having difficulties trying to stay awake again. When they halted, he hid behind a large Evergreen tree and tried to rest. Eventually, he nodded into an uneasy sleep filled with nightmares about giant boulders rolling down the mountains, ready to crush him.

When he awoke, he realized that he had only slept for a few hours. The group was gathered around a fire, so it seemed like they were having a serious council. The wizard Gandalf was speaking, and there was a grave expression on his face as he talked. "... Since our open attempt on the mountain-pass our plight has become more desperate, I fear. I see now little hope, if we do not soon vanish from sight for a while, and cover our trail. Therefore I advise that we should go neither over the mountains, nor around them, but under them. That is a road at any rate that the enemy will least expect us to take."

"We do not know what he expects," a man with a horn hanging at his belt argued. "He may watch all roads, likely and unlikely. In that case, to enter Moria would be to walk into a trap, hardly better than knocking at the gates of the Dark Tower itself. The name of Moria is black."

Gorluk's eyes widened in bewilderment. _Moria!? Are they really thinking about going there!? _There were probably thousands of Orcs down there that never associated themselves with the Great Eye. He had only heard of a few select messengers who could find there way in and out, but sometimes, they never returned. There were rumors that something even darker lurked down in the deep.

His mind wandered from the rest of their conversation for a bit. He clung to the dirty fabric of his ragged clothes as the chilly wind blew harder. But then, he thought that he could hear something in the distance. It seemed like a howling noise, but not from the wind…

The Ranger automatically leapt to his feet. "How the wind howls! It is howling with wolf-voices. The Wargs have come west of the mountains!"

_WARGS!? _Gorluk's blood turned cold at the mention of them. It is strange for an Orc to fear them, since Orcs and Wargs often help each other in wicked deeds, but of course, it is strange for an Orc to act like Gorluk. The reason why Gorluk was scared of them was because one had tried to eat him a few years back. Gorluk couldn't remember why the Warg didn't, but he assumed that the Warg had reconsidered, and thought that Gorluk would barely make more than a mouthful because of his small size.

"How far is Moria?!" the man asked, who ironically was the same one who earlier was against on going there.

"There is a door south-west of Caradhas, some fifteen miles as the crow flies, and maybe twenty as the wolf runs," Gandalf answered grimly.

"Then let us start as soon as it is light tomorrow, if we can," the man suggested. "The wolf that one hears is worse then the Orc that one fears!"

"True!" the Ranger said, "But where the Warg howls, there also the Orc prowls."

Gorluk gulped and huddled closer to his tree. The ranger was definitely right about that. More right than he would ever begin to realize!

_**One hour later…**_

The travelers moved their camp up a small hill, from where they had earlier been sheltering below. Since there were only small and old twisted trees that surrounded their new camp, Gorluk had no other choice but to climb to the top of the pine tree and watch with growing fear. Very soon, the howling was all around them, sometimes near, other times far off. Gorluk could see many red eyes surrounding the hill, but the travelers sat silently with their backs to the fire. Other than the Halflings, they made no sign of fear.

Out of the darkness, Gorluk could see the outline of a large Warg slinking closer to the fire, until he was only twenty feet away. The Warg stopped and stared at them silently. The Travelers did not move. The Wolf suddenly pointed his nose up to the sky and howled, as if he was the leader of the pack, and was summoning the rest of the Wolves to attack. Gorluk began to shake so hard, the top of his tree began to sway back and forth as if it was in a windstorm.

Gorluk watched with terror as Gandalf grabbed his staff and stepped forward. "Listen, Hound of Sauron!" his voice boomed, "Gandalf is here. Fly, if you value your foul skin! I will shrivel you from tail to snout, if you come within this ring."

The Warg growled and leapt towards the Wizard. Gorluk was about to cry out _NOOOOOO!_, when suddenly, there was a sharp _twang! _and the Warg fell to the ground with a thud. Gorluk's jaw dropped with disbelief. There was an arrow that was sticking out of it's throat. Gorluk saw the Elf standing, staring silently at the dead Wolf. The Elf had probably shot it so fast that Gorluk didn't even notice. Gorluk was reminded of that Autumn back in Mirkwood, five month ago, when that Elf had (non-intentionally) saved his life.

With a trembling hand, Gorluk hesitantly drew out his small knife, the only weapon he had. In a dangerous situation like this, Gorluk knew that he would have to return the favor. Gorluk was going to fight for them, even if he had never killed a single thing in his life. It wasn't much, but it was all Gorluk had to offer (or so he thought at the time).

Right at that moment, a sudden chorus of howls of rage broke out around the hill. More Wargs had come.

_**To be continued…**_

~0~0~0~

**DUN-DA-DAAAAAA! **

**I guess that it was a major cliff-hanger. Please tell me if that was too much, so that I'll never do that again. I wanted for this chapter to be longer, but, well… I'm busy being non-productive.**

**Chapter seven coming soon!**


	7. Chapter 7

**O.k., let's pick up where we left off…**

~0~0~0~

_Right at that moment, a sudden chorus of howls of rage broke out around the hill. More Wargs had come…_

Gorluk looked up as Gandalf started shouting orders to the Halflings. "Fling fuel on the fire! Draw your blades, and stand back to back!"

_He's making the Halflings fight too?_ Gorluk thought with shock. But as the fire blazed higher, Gorluk began to see the outlines of many Wargs. With shaky legs, he slowly climbed down the pine tree to meet them. As his feet hit the ground, a large grey Warg strode up towards him. Gorluk froze, hoping that the Warg would mistake him for one of their allies. He stopped and sniffed him in confusion. "An Orc? And what do you think you're doing here on this side of the mountains, runt?" He growled. The Warg's companions stood behind him and waited.

Gorluk trembled but couldn't think of anything to say. But then, he thought up an idea. "I-I-I-I'm…..", he stuttered at first. "…I was sent here from Mordor to patrol the Misty Mountains, in case any trouble happened," he found himself blurting out. Gorluk turned red as many of the Wargs howled with laughter. The grey Warg grinned, showing his sharp teeth. "And why would Mordor have any interest here?" he asked slyly. Gorluk thought for a moment, but couldn't think of an answer. He nervously piped up, "The great Eye doesn't want you here. Turn back now, before you furry his face." _No!_ Gorluk thought. He had meant to say, _before you face his fury_, but Gorluk was so scared that he couldn't even think straight.Gorluk turned even redder as the Wargs rolled over on their backs and laughed harder. Some of the Wargs had already turned around to attack the travelers.

As the sound of battle rang in the background, the grey Warg turned to Gorluk with his red eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You're lying," he growled, "I can recognize the scent of an Orc from Mirkwood anywhere, and I can definitely recognize the scent of fear. You reek of both."

Gorluk began to shake harder. He raised his knife in the air as a last attempt to scare them away, his voice almost drowned out over the howling of the Wargs. "Those travelers are under my protection. Leave now, so you won't have to face the punishment of the Great Eye!"

The grey Warg grinned again, venomously this time. He crouched down, ready to spring. "We care nothing for the Great Eye anymore. We are our own pack, and we can do as we please." The grey Warg suddenly roared and sprang towards him. With a terrified shriek, Gorluk thought fast and ducked beneath him, and sliced his belly open with his knife. The Warg fell to the ground with a thud, and never moved again.

Gorluk blinked and turned to face the rest of the Wargs. Some looked with surprise, but one howled with rage and ran towards him with red eyes. Gorluk darted to the left and slit it's throat. As more Wargs came, he did the same thing to them, sometimes ducking, other times darting to the side. Gorluk discovered that his small size actually gave him an advantage when it came to fighting, which is something he never thought of before.

He fought on, until he realized that there were no longer any Wargs before him. Thinking that he had won the battle, Gorluk turned towards the travelers' direction and let out a cry. Turns out, there were Wargs attacking at all sides, and almost all of them were already up the hill! The group seemed unhurt, but they were battling as hard as they could. "Hey!" Gorluk shouted. With his knife upraised, he began to dash up the hill.

But he felt himself come to an abrupt halt. Someone had grabbed his coat from behind! He could feel someone trying to tug him away. He whirled around and squeaked "If you don't let me go this instant…" but then his voice trailed off as he saw who had grabbed him.

It was a Warg of course, but that wasn't why he had stopped. Gorluk blinked in surprise because he saw that this Warg was probably only a Pup. It was only a few inches shorter than Gorluk, but it was still only the size of a large dog. It's eyes were wide and alert, but Gorluk could somehow see that it was afraid. The Pup continued to yank at his coat, but it wasn't pulling hard enough to drag him away.

"…What are you doing?" Gorluk asked awkwardly. He didn't know what else to say. The Pup didn't answer, and only continued to stare up at him with scared eyes. "I won't hurt you, honest," Gorluk said, raising both his palms up in the air. But Gorluk forgot that he still held a knife in one hand, and once the little Warg saw it, he threw himself to the ground and began to whimper. "Please don't kill me yet!" the Warg begged in a high-pitched wail. "I was only doing what the pack was telling me to do! Please spare me!"

Gorluk couldn't believe what he was watching. This was the first time that he had ever seen a Warg beg for mercy, and it was also the first time that he had ever seen anyone afraid of him. He looked around, first at the young Warg, then at all the other Wargs he had just killed. Had he just killed the little Warg's family? He felt like a monster.

He suddenly heard a loud noise behind him. Gorluk gazed up the hill as Gandalf strode towards a group of Wargs with a burning branch in one hand. He tossed the branch up into the air, and it suddenly shone like lightning. His voice rolled throughout the hill like thunder as he shouted _"Naur an edraith ammen! Naur dan i ngaurhoth!"_ The tree above the Wizard burst into a blinding flame. The fire began to spread from tree-top to tree-top at a surprising speed. Gorluk turned quickly to the Warg, who stood trembling on the ground. "Run!" Gorluk told it in a commanding tone. The Warg immediately bolted and disappeared into the night. The other Wargs fled in the opposite direction. The whole hill seemed to blaze with a radiating light. Right as Gorluk was about to run from the flames, he could see that by some sort of magic that they had begun to die down.

Gorluk scampered up the hill to see if any of the travelers were hurt. They all seemed fine, and were busy getting ready to move for the second time that night. After this battle, they definitely weren't going to wait around for a second to see if they would come back!

But the only thing that was on Gorluk's mind at the moment was that young Warg. He had never felt so guilty in his life. It was the first time he had ever killed so many creatures, creatures that he thought were wicked at first, but when he saw that Warg-pup he realized what he had done. They were Wargs that didn't care for Sauron! Did that mean that there was some good in them? He knew that there was some good in that young Warg, because it didn't even try to attack him at all.

Gorluk had to remind himself that they were there to kill the travelers anyway. But why, he didn't know. He was only trying to defend his friends after all. He couldn't be blamed for that.

Gorluk looked up as the first light of morning began to appear in the sky. But then he saw the travelers begin to make their way down the hill, so he quickly scrambled up the only tree that remained unburned. As they passed him by from beneath him, Gorluk saw that they were walking south-east… Directly towards the doors to Moria. _Moria must be their only option now _Gorluk thought. As he climbed down the tree and began to follow them once again, Gorluk could have sworn that he saw two eyes beneath a bush. But when he had glanced back again, they were gone.

Gorluk turned back, and began to follow the group towards Moria, the one place that he didn't want to go. But now it was probably the only way to wherever they were going (which Gorluk had yet to figure out).

As Gorluk walked back toward the mountains in a new direction, a particular young Warg poked it's head out of a bush and watched him leave. When he had disappeared from sight, the Pup began to follow in pursuit.

~0~0~0~

**THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SO MANY REVIEWS! **

**There is one thing that I want to clear up real quick. I've had a surprising number of people (twenty at least) private message me this question, so I want to clear this up before someone else asks me again…**

**I AM NOT TURNING GORLUK INTO AN ELF. HE IS STAYING THE WAY HE IS.**

**I will be glad to answer any more questions, either as a review question or a question that you can message to me. **

**Oh, and also, Happy Easter! (But if you're Jewish, then happy late Passover!) I thought that it would be cool to update on a holiday.**


	8. Faroth

**I've decided that I'm going to start naming my chapters instead of doing the boring "Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3…" since that doesn't make my chapters sound interesting. Enjoy this chapter!**

~0~0~0~

_**An hour later…**_

Gorluk glanced over his shoulder for the fiftieth time. Somehow thirty minutes ago, as he had been following the travelers to Moria, he began to get the feeling that someone was watching him. But not only watching, following too. Every time he heard a twig snap, or even as much as heard the trees murmur in the wind, he would instantly whip his head around- only to find that no one was there. He began to walk faster with anxiety, but not enough to run into the group. _Am I going mad?_ He thought to himself with a growing panic. He could swear that he could feel someone staring directly at the back of his head.

He tried to get that out of his mind by trying to pay attention to where they were going. Earlier, the Wizard had found a small path that lead directly to Moria, in which a small stream trickled beside. Gorluk guessed that the small stream was the Sirannon, which he already knew was a stream that ran out from the feet of the cliffs from where the west gate stood. As far as he could tell, none of the Orcs knew exactly where the doors to the West gate were. Messengers that were sent to Moria always used the East gate to get in (or so he thought at the moment).

By noontime, they were still walking, or scrambling in Gorluk's case, over large red stones. Gorluk was beginning to feel exhausted, and his fragile heart sank for he thought that maybe the west doors to Moria were much further away then he thought. But suddenly, he heard the Dwarf cry out and point to the right. The others hurried up and looked to where the Dwarf was pointing. Gorluk looked also and saw a deep and narrow channel. Below, there was hardly a trickle of water, but right beside the small stream was a path, broken and decayed, that wove its way among the paving-stones of an ancient highroad.

"Ah! Here it is at last!" said Gandalf triumphantly. "This is where the stream ran: Sirannon, the Gate-stream, they used to call it. But what has happened to the water, I cannot guess; it used to be swift and noisy. Come! We must hurry on. We are late."

_Late for what? _Gorluk thought with a frown. He glanced towards the westward cliffs but couldn't find any grand doors in sight. What that meant for Gorluk, was more walking.

Hours later, Gorluk was still trudging along the narrow track. The group only stopped once to eat, and during that time Gorluk starred enviously at their food, and looked with worry at his unappetizing bread. He now only had enough food for a few days and after that he would have to hunt for himself (but of course, that was something that he never tried). But all that time, he could still feel someone watching him with a growing intensity.

Gorluk looked up at the sky and watched as the sun began to turn a bright orange. Gorluk began to feel afraid that the Wargs would come back, if they didn't reach the doors by nightfall.

Gorluk looked up ahead and saw the road take a sharp turn. _This must be it! _He thought hopefully. The group turned and disappeared from sight behind the tall cliff. Gorluk scampered eagerly towards the corner, and saw lots of stairs going up. He watched as the travelers began to hastily climb up the stairs. He was about to take a step forward, but he immediately stopped himself. He scanned the steps and realized that he had no bush, tree, or rock to hide behind. He would have to wait until the travelers were all the way up to avoid being seen. He looked behind him with uneasiness. By now he was certain that something or someone was following him, and he felt afraid to be left completely alone. But he had no choice. All he could do was pull out his knife and sit with his back against the cliff, and wait.

He started to feel anxious as an uncanny silence settled around him. He tried to hum a song to himself to break the stillness, but sadly, he didn't know any songs. All he could do was watch the darkness with bulging eyes with his hands rested on his knees, while on high alert.

A few panicky minutes later, Gorluk glanced back at the stairs and realized that they were already gone. Immediately, he sprinted straight towards the stairs as if someone was pursuing him. He dashed up the steps at a surprising speed, and glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone was following. For a brief moment, he almost thought that he saw two red eyes, but they blinked out as soon as he saw them. That, of course, made him run faster.

As soon as he reached the top, he stopped to catch his breath. Before him, Gorluk was surprised to see a large lake, and behind it was vast and ominous cliffs that seemed impassable. Gorluk looked with relief when he caught sight of the travelers again as they stood in front of the menacing walls. They seemed to be talking amongst themselves.

"Well, here we are and all are ready," said one of the Halflings. "But where are the Doors? I can't see any sign of them."

Gorluk stayed sitting on the stairs, but he leaned forward, dying to know the answer. Maybe if they couldn't find them, they, including Gorluk, wouldn't have to go into Moria.

"Dwarf-doors are not made to be seen when shut," Gimli answered. "They are invisible, and their own masters cannot find them or open them, if their secret is forgotten."

"But this door was not made to be a secret known only to Dwarves," Gandalf added. "Unless things are altogether changed, eyes that know what to look for may discover the signs."

From a distance, Gorluk could see Gandalf look up and point at the sky. Gorluk and all the others looked and saw that a cluster of clouds were shifting away from the moon. "The moon is unveiled!", Gandalf shouted with triumph. He turned back towards the cliff wall. "Do you see anything now?"

Gorluk strained his eyes at the cliffs but couldn't see anything at first. But then, a faint glow began to appear from the wall as the moonlight touched it. As the extraordinary light became brighter, Gorluk began to see strange markings, including a carving of a tree at each side, and a star in the middle. The brighter the light became, the bigger Gorluk's eyes grew in disbelief and amazement.

"What does the writing say?" a Halfling with dark hair asked.

Gorluk could see Gandalf lean over and peer closely at the intricate script. "They do not say anything of importance to us," He finally said. "They say only: _The Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter. _And underneath small and faint is written: _I, Narvi, made them. Celebrimbor of Hollin drew these signs._"

"What does it mean by _speak, friend, and enter_? Another Halfling asked.

"That is plain enough," the Dwarf snapped. "If you are a friend, speak the password, and the doors will open, and you can enter."

"Do you know the password Gandalf?" the man with the horn asked in a worried tone.

"No!" said the Wizard.

At once almost all of the travelers groaned, but not as deafeningly as Gimli, while Gorluk sat down on the steps feeling completely crushed. It was true that Gorluk did not wish to go into Moria at first, but now he was desperate to get away from whoever was watching him.

Gandalf spoke up again, slightly annoyed this time. "I once knew every spell in all the tongues of Elves or Men or Orcs, that was ever used for such a purpose. I can still remember ten score of them without searching in my mind. But only a few trials, I think, will be needed; and I shall not have to call on Gimli for words of the secret dwarf-tongue that they teach to none. The opening words were Elvish, like the writing on the arch: that seems certain."

Gandalf's words seemed comforting to Gorluk, and again he began to feel hope. He watched as Gandalf stepped forward and shouted something Elvish in a powerful tone.

Nothing happened.

Again, Gandalf said something differently, but he ended up with the same result. He started shouting out many different spells, sometimes rearranging the words, sometimes using different languages. As he said them, he started waving his arms in the air, yelling louder and louder in frustration. Finally, he banged his staff against the cliff multiple times, shouting "OPEN! OPEN!" until he had enough, and sat down on a rock nearby to think.

Gorluk rested his chin on the palms of his hands in boredom. This was going to take awhile…

_**Two hours later…**_

At this point, Gorluk was struggling to stay awake. The wizard had not moved or spoken for two hours while in deep thought, and the others paced back and forth with impatience. A few times Gorluk actually did doze off (for if you remember, Gorluk hadn't slept for three days), but he would force himself to wake up because he was determined to be on his guard.

Finally, the Wizard sprang to his feet. But what surprised Gorluk the most was that he was laughing! "I have it!" he cried. "Of course, of course! Absurdly simple, like most riddles when you see the answer!"

He picked up his staff from off the ground, and in a clear voice shouted, _Mellon!_

Immediately, the intricate carvings dimmed out, and slowly, inch by inch, two great doors appeared from the cliff and swung forward. Gorluk couldn't see what was inside, for there was nothing but blackness.

The Halflings cheered, and the others sighed with relief. Gorluk couldn't help but beam too.

But then, as Gandalf set his foot inside, several things happened.

First, Gorluk realized that the water had started moving, and a small snake-like tentacle shot out and grabbed the dark-haired Halfling by the ankle. The Halfling fell over with a cry, and slowly the tentacle started to drag him into the lake. Gorluk watched with horror as the waters of the lake began to seethe, as if it was filled with snakes. But then another Halfling ran forward shouting "Mr. Frodo! Mr. Frodo!", and started to slash the giant tentacle with a knife until it let go. But then twenty more arms shot out, and both Halflings turned around and started shouting for help.

As if by instinct, Gorluk sprang up and charged towards the lake-monster with his knife in hand. But the travelers didn't notice him, for they were already running inside through the door. Gorluk sprinted towards one of the giant arms and began to stab it aggressively. Something like a roar gurgled from underwater, and the arms began to swing violently in pain. Before he knew it, one tentacle grabbed him, and started swinging him around in the air. The other arms had banged the doors shut by accident, and one arm had let loose many boulders that crashed in front of the doors.

"AIIIIIIIIIIII!" Gorluk screamed. The tentacle that gripped him by the waist began to squeeze him tighter and tighter. "HELP! HELP!" Gorluk cried out with an effort. _This is the end _he thought with despair.

But then, as if someone had answered him, he heard a howl coming from the ground. The lake-monster stopped squeezing Gorluk as if he was equally confused. Gorluk glanced at the ground and for a moment thought that he saw something brown running towards the giant arm that was holding him.

Unexpectedly, the tentacle let go of Gorluk, and he fell to the ground with a thud and fell into unconsciousness.

When Gorluk woke up, he found that he was lying next to the lake and all was quiet. He was about to sit up, when he heard someone near him say, "hi."

Gorluk nearly jumped out of his own skin. He whipped his head around, and he saw standing three feet away from him was a Warg! "EEEEIIIIIK!" Gorluk screamed in terror, and sprang to his feet. He tried to run away, but he accidentally tripped into the lake and fell into the water with a splash. Gorluk sat in six inches of water, trembling with fear. He recognized that it was the young Warg, but what if he had followed him for _revenge_?

The young Warg stood there and watched him with interest. Finally he asked, "Why were you following them?"

That question made Gorluk confused, but he didn't answer him. So the little Warg continued, "I noticed last night that you told my pack that the strange group of travelers were under your protection. But then, the next morning, I saw that you followed them, but it seemed more like you were spying on them. Why?"

Gorluk didn't know how to answer that either. So instead, he asked "Well… Why did you follow ME?"

The little Warg looked down at his paws. "Well…" he said in a small voice. "Last night when I had tried to drag you away, you didn't kill me. Instead, you allowed me to live, so I ran away. But I didn't follow the Pack's orders. I followed you because if I came back to them, I would get in serious trouble."

A sudden pity mixed with understanding welled up within Gorluk's heart. "But what about your family?" he suddenly asked. The little Warg looked up and only shook his head in sadness. Gorluk assumed that it meant that he didn't have one. For a moment, they sat in silence. But then the Young Warg said, "I once heard by ancient law, that if someone saves a person's life, then in order to return the favor, the person must become a servant to the person who saved his life, and follow him wherever he goes."

Gorluk thought for a moment, but then he shook his head. "I didn't save your life, I SPARED your life, didn't I?"

"But the same rules can still apply," the Warg-pup insisted. "I should return the favor."

Gorluk thought harder this time. A sudden smile appeared on Gorluk's face as he said "I don't need a servant… But I DO need a companion. Maybe you could help me."

The little Warg sat up straight in excitement. "Really? I can come with you on whatever quest you're doing?"

"If you want to." Gorluk said.

The Warg-pup sprang up into the air with joy. "WE'RE GOING ON AN ADVENTURE!" he howled.

"Sssssshhhh!" Gorluk said. He turned around, wondering whether or not the Travelers were still there. But then he discovered for the first time that the doors were shut, and there were rocks piled over them.

"NOOOO!" Gorluk wailed and dashed towards the doors. The Warg followed after him. Gorluk felt devastated as he tried to move some of the rocks out of the way. But something told him that those doors would never be able to open again. "How are we going to get inside?" he wailed. The Warg sniffed around until he pointed at something with his nose. "Look!"

Gorluk walked over and stood beside him and saw a small hole, three feet in diameter, that seemed to lead into some sort of pathway.

"Is that where you're meaning to go?" the Warg asked. Gorluk shrugged. "I guess that it's the only way I can get in, so yes."

They stood silently for a moment. But then Gorluk realized that he forgot to ask something to his new friend.

"What's your name?" Gorluk asked.

"Faroth," The little Warg beamed proudly. "What's yours?"

"My name is Gorluk," he replied.

And with that, Gorluk and his new friend Faroth crawled in through the hole together, and disappeared into the darkness.

~0~0~0~

**Well, looks like this is my new record for longest chapter (That's what happens when you stay up until three in the morning to finish it!) I hope that you didn't mind its length. **

**If you've noticed what Faroth's name means, then you are awesome. If you haven't (which is 99.9% of you guys probably) then is name is Elvish for **_**hunter**_**. I know that some of you are probably confused why I would give him an Elvish name, but the reason why is because I couldn't find any words or names that was from the language that Wargs use, and in the back of one of Tolkien's books, The Silmarillion, it had a complete guide to Elvish words. So giving him an Elvish name was easiest. **

**Give me your opinions on what should happen next!**

**~Tatharwen**


	9. Wrong directions

**Wow… So many reviews that make me happy… **

**Thanks guys! **

~0~0~0~

It was now an hour since Gorluk and Faroth had started their new adventure into Moria. (After they had been in the tunnel for a few moments, Gorluk had realized how dark it was, and so they had to turn around to find a branch outside that they could use as a torch. Once Gorluk was able to figure out how to light a fire, they resumed with their journey).

So far, Gorluk and Faroth told one another about themselves. Gorluk told Faroth his story, staring from when he was picking flowers one early autumn five months ago in Mirkwood, to when the battle with the Wargs started. Faroth, on the other hand, said nothing about his pack or any details about his life, and instead told Gorluk his battle with the lake monster, which Gorluk remembered nothing about.

"I was behind a boulder when the creature grabbed you by the ankles," He explained. "I knew that you needed help, so I ran up to it and grabbed onto the giant arm with my teeth until it let go of you. When you fell, you actually fell into the lake, so I had to swim in there and pull you out. By the time I had dragged you to the shore safely, the lake monster had disappeared, and you woke up thirty minutes later."

"The lake monster went away just like that?" Gorluk asked incredulously.

Faroth nodded and beamed with pride. Gorluk was impressed by his bravery. The young Warg had more skill then he would ever begin to realize!

Faroth suddenly stopped and stared ahead. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Gorluk asked with a mixture of confusion and alarm.

Faroth peered into the darkness with uncertainty. "I could have sworn that I heard a noise, like a rumble in the distance…"

Afraid, Gorluk stood closer to Faroth and raised his torch up like a shield, and they continued walking.

Deeper and deeper the tunnel went, and Gorluk became more and more afraid. But then, Gorluk heard the noise too.

_GRRRRRR…._

"Did you hear it now?" Faroth asked with anxiety. Gorluk nodded with his mouth gaped open. But this time, they didn't stop but walked much slower.

_GRRRRRRRR… _

The sound was getting louder now. Gorluk couldn't tell where it was coming from, for it seemed to echo around the walls.

_GRRRRRRRRRRR…._

"It's getting closer," Faroth whispered in fear. By now, Faroth was walking beside Gorluk with his tail between his legs, while Gorluk was shivering with terror. "Maybe we should turn around…" he began, but his voice was cut off from the sound. This time, it was so loud that it echoed throughout the tunnel, but that wasn't the only thing that was different. It was loud enough that Gorluk was able to finally tell where it was coming from…

"Faroth?" Gorluk asked while trying to hide his grin. "When was the last time you were able to eat?"

Faroth looked up with confusion, but thought for awhile. "I think… I think that my last meal was three days ago. Why?"

"Well…" Gorluk was struggling to contain his amusement. "I think that I have figured out where the noise is coming from…"

It took a while for Faroth to understand what Gorluk was trying to say. At first the Warg tried to open his mouth to object, but he instead began to howl with laughter, which echoed around the tunnel with a surprising loudness.

"So it was my stomach growling all along! No wonder I had heard it first!" he said between fits of laughter.

Gorluk laughed too, but that was when he realized a slight issue: Faroth would have nothing to eat until they got out (and he didn't exactly know when).

Faroth saw the worry in Gorluk's face. "It's alright," the Warg reassured him. "There's bound to be something down here that I can eat." He looked up at the ceiling of the tunnel. "Like right there!"

Gorluk watched as Faroth bent down and sprang towards the air with surprising speed. When he landed, Gorluk saw that he had caught something in his mouth. Something black with wings…

"Is that a…" Gorluk tried to ask nervously but his voice trailed off.

"Ah pffhat Yuu mean?" Faroth said trying to talk with an object in his mouth. Gorluk knew that he had meant to say was _Bat_.

"Have you ever eaten a Bat before, Faroth?" Gorluk asked.

Faroth shook his head. "I've ahways wanhhtehh to thouhhh," he added.

Faroth sat down and started to tear off the Bat's wings. Gorluk's face almost turned green. He decided that he needed to rest too, so he sat down and thought about the travelers, and where they could be at the moment. Gorluk was hoping that they were walking down the same path as he and Faroth were in right now. But what Gorluk would never realize until later was that they were in the tunnel exactly parallel to the tunnel that the travelers were in. But this tunnel went deeper and deeper underground instead.

Before he knew it, Gorluk's head dropped down and he fell into a deep sleep. When he awoke a few hour later, he saw half a dozen bat's wings scattered on the ground (including the other pieces of the Bats that he didn't want to think about), and Faroth was curled up asleep. Gorluk stood up and stretched. "I think that we should go on Faroth," He said. Faroth lifted up his head and yawned loudly. "Is it Morning yet?" he asked. Gorluk shrugged. "We're underground, remember? We can't see the sky from here." Faroth nodded and stood up. Together they walked down the tunnel at a quick pace as the path began to almost go down. Soon, the path became unusually steep. Gorluk started to notice that the air was getting stuffier, and strangely warmer.

"Do you think that we're going the wrong way?" Faroth asked. "This doesn't seem where they were meaning to go."

Gorluk sighed. "Let's just walk one more mile, and if this path gets worse, we'll turn around." But Gorluk didn't know what he would do if that happened.

As they walked on, Gorluk saw up ahead the path take a sharp turn. When they passed that corner, they stopped with shock. Right before them, the path turned into three separate tunnels. Two seemed to climb upwards, but one seemed to go downwards.

"Well this is difficult," Faroth said after a long silence. "It's obvious that we won't go towards the path that goes downwards. The only way to go is up if we are ever able to find the travelers again. But yet, there are two paths that go up! What should we do?"

It was as if Faroth was saying the same exact thought that went through Gorluk's mind. Gorluk was about to answer, when they both heard an eerie voice coming from the downwards tunnel.

_My…Precioussss…._

It was almost like a hissing sound, except that it was in the form of words. Gorluk and Faroth glanced at each other in panic, but none of them moved. The voice was starting to get closer.

_My Precioussss is losssst…._

Gorluk blinked. The voice almost sounded… sad, but yet in a creepy way.

"What should we do?" Faroth whispered in a shaky voice. Gorluk thought for a moment, and then said "I'm not sure. Maybe we should wait here until the person comes. Maybe he lives in these tunnels, so he can show us where to go." As he said this, Gorluk secretly drew his knife out of his pocket. Whoever it was, it was a stranger so he wasn't going to take any chances.

Gorluk began to hear footsteps, except for the footsteps sounded more like a flapping noise. As the footsteps became louder, he also began to hear someone breathing (or hissing) loudly. Through the torchlight, Gorluk saw the figure of some skinny creature crawling closer and closer. But then it stopped and stood still. It must have finally noticed them for the first time. For many moments, they silently stared, none of them moving. Finally, it was brave Faroth that stepped forward and broke the silence.

"Hello stranger!" Faroth said, trying to sound as cheerful as possible. The creature shrank away like a scared cat, but Faroth continued anyway. "My friend and I are trying to find our way through these tunnels, and we were hoping that maybe you could help us in our dire need."

The Creature didn't answer Faroth at all. Instead, he said, "It's definitely a Wargses Preciousss. It smells likes one too, _Gollum! Gollum!_" It coughed like it was coughing up a hairball. Gorluk wandered if it was because it was ill. "And Orcses preciousss, Orcses!" it continued. "A little wargses and a little Orcses sounds like a meaty mouthful!" It cackled. Before Gorluk and Faroth could object or even try to run, there was a flash that appeared in the creature's pale eyes, and the sound of its voice changed. "But Orcses taste nassty precious! Smeagol wants Batses instead!"

Gorluk and Faroth watched as the creature continued to argue with itself. Gorluk didn't find it hard to tell which side of the creature was which, for one voice sounded cold and hissing, while another voice sounded more child-like with less hissing. Gorluk decided to try to talk to the creature's nicer side.

"Smeagol? Is that your name?" Gorluk asked him. Smeagol looked up at the sound of his own name. "An Orcses and a Wargses in these tunnels preciousss! But where did they come from, we wanders?" Smeagol cocked his head to one side in curiosity.

Gorluk decided that it was time to introduce themselves. "This is my friend Faroth," Gorluk began slowly, gesturing towards Faroth. "He lives in the Misty Mountains. My name is Gorluk. I come from Mirkwood…"

Before Gorluk could even finish, something about Mirkwood seemed to spook Smeagol badly. "Nassty place! Place with Elvses with the bright eyes! We dursn't goes there again, we dursn't!"

Smeagol whimpered, hugged himself, and began to rock back and forth. Gorluk and Faroth never realized this, but this creature was indeed the well-known Gollum who was held a prisoner in the Woodland Realm for a short time, but later escaped with the help of Orcs… who were also Gorluk's comrades. But Gorluk had no idea of this, for it happened while he was away.

Gorluk stepped forward to try to calm the wretched creature. "Smeagol…?" he said. Strangely enough, when he heard his name, Smeagol snapped out of his bizarre spell.

Gorluk tried to talk to him again. "We are here because we are trying to find a group of travelers. Have you seen anyone else come by here?"

Smeagol looked confused. "No, we hassn't seen anyone down these tunnels preciousss. 'Praps it could tell us what they looks like?"

Gorluk thought for a while. "Well, there's a Dwarf with a brown beard with them, and an Elf. There's also two men, one tall with dark hair, and another one who has a fancy horn hanging from his belt. Then there's four creatures called Halflings, if you've ever heard of them, and a Wizard." Of course, it wasn't a very accurate description, but Gorluk tried his best.

Smeagol's eyes darkened when he heard _Halflings_. "Does it mean Hobbitses preciousss?" it growled. Gorluk shrugged, pretending not to be daunted by Smeagol's sudden discourtesy. "I guess that's another name for them. Have you met one before?" Smeagol growled again. "Yesss precioussss, long time ago. We hates them, especially Bagginses."

"Bagginses?" Gorluk asked with surprise. "You mean Baggins? One of the Halflings is named Frodo Baggins!" something flashed in Smeagol's eyes. "Well…" he said slyly. "When did it last sees thems?"

"We saw them as they were walking into Moria through the Western Gate." Both Gorluk and Faroth said with excitement. Smeagol suddenly grinned. "Yess, then the path they must be taking is down that aways!" he pointed towards the tunnel that plunged downwards. "Are you sure?" Faroth asked uncertainly. "Yesss, of course preciousss! We know these paths well, we does!" Smeagol said, still grinning.

Gorluk and Faroth wasted no time. They began to walk as fast as they could down the path. But after a few paces, Gorluk turned around and waved to Smeagol. "Thank you!" he called. Smeagol stayed where he was until their torchlight disappeared from the tunnel. He cackled and started running through a different tunnel, the one the middle that went up. "Stupid Orcses," He cackled. "We shows them the wrong way! Now we shall take back what was ours, OURS!"

~0~0~0~

**Aaaaand that's how Gollum was able to find the Fellowship in Moria!**

_**What will happen next?**_

_**WILL Gorluk and Faroth figure out that they're going the wrong way? WILL they find the Travelers again?**_

_**WILL Gollum learn to use proper Grammar?**_

_**Their fate will be revealed… Next Chapter! **_

_**Dun-da-daaa! **_

**~Tatharwen**


	10. That burning smell

~0~0~0~

_**Three hours later…**_

"Gorluk, I think that Smeagol gave us the wrong directions," Faroth said slowly. Gorluk shook his head. "I'm sure that he gave us the right directions. He seemed to know these tunnels well," he insisted. Faroth didn't dare to argue back. He could sense that Gorluk was worried about where they were going, but yet he seemed more determined then ever to keep moving forward.

Gorluk had told Faroth everything that he knew about the strange group of people, but yet Faroth still couldn't understand his interest in them. Sure there was a Wizard among them, but Faroth was certain that he had seen one in Mirkwood. Sure there was an Elf among them, but Faroth saw Elves attack his pack all the time. He couldn't understand why Gorluk called them friends either. He never even spoke a word to them, and they never even saw him. There was one thing Faroth did already understand; Gorluk's definition of friendship was much more different then Faroth's. Growing up, Faroth always thought that friends were Wargs that knew each other very well and went hunting together (which is sad to think, since no one ever went hunting with Faroth; he was a very bad hunter).

Faroth was worried about where they were going because they seemed to be making no progress. For hours, the tunnel that they were walking in seemed to go deeper and deeper. He wondered if it was possible to go into the center of the earth, because that seemed to be where they were heading.

Faroth suddenly stopped. Gorluk glanced at him in confusion. "What is it?" he asked. Faroth sniffed the air. Something seemed to be tickling his nose. "I'm not sure," He said. "But I think that I can smell something burning." Gorluk started to look perplexed. "Are you sure? It might be coming from this torch." He held up the torch he was carrying. "I may be well known in my pack for being a bad hunter, but I'm very well known for being born with an excellent sense of smell. I'm certain that the smell is from a distance," Faroth insisted. Gorluk patted him on the shoulder. "I'm sorry," the Orc said. "Just the thought of something burning underground doesn't seem right." Faroth nodded in agreement. "I just hope that it's not a giant bonfire."

They continued walking. The smell started to get stronger in his nose, and as Faroth was about to tell that to Gorluk, he saw something up ahead; a red glow. They both stopped and stared at it for a while, while Faroth sneezed. "I think we should see what it is before turning around," Gorluk said. Faroth wasn't so sure, but he was too busy sneezing to object.

They slowly continued walking. It started to get brighter, and at the same time, hotter. Sweat was beginning to streak down Faroth's fur, which was very uncomfortable. Just as he couldn't take it anymore, the tunnel suddenly opened up into a giant cave. Gorluk and Faroth stopped and looked around in awe. Faroth guessed that the ceiling was eighty feet high, but he wasn't able to calculate how far away the wall in front of them was. Probably a hundred yards away. Gorluk suddenly nudged him by the shoulder. When Faroth looked up at him, Gorluk was starring straight ahead, and his face seemed frozen. "Faroth," he whispered. "What on earth is THAT?"

Faroth looked around until his eyes met the corner of the massive room. He too, froze. It appeared to be a massive pile of burning coals. But it definitely was the source of the burning smell that had been bothering Faroth. But yet, he still had absolutely no idea what it was. This made Faroth very curious. As if by instinct, he began to trot towards it at a normal pace.

"Faroth! What are you doing?" Gorluk whispered. He stayed exactly where he was and didn't follow him. "I'm just going to see what it is," Faroth called back, and kept walking. With a sigh, Gorluk briskly walked after him.

As they came closer, Faroth could have sworn that the pile of coal seemed to be shaped like a figure lying down. After they were ten yards away from it, they stopped at the same time. "Do you think we should touch it?" Faroth asked. It was probably the most ridiculous question he ever asked, but surprisingly, Gorluk cautiously stepped forward. Faroth stood behind him as they slowly advanced towards it. Gorluk had an extra stick that he was going to use as torch later in his hand. They were now only three feet away from it. Gorluk held up his branch like a sword as he slowly poked it.

And that was when everything went wrong.

First, they both heard a noise that sounded like a roll of thunder. Faroth and Gorluk stood side by side in horror as the pile of coals began to move upward. There was a flash, and they saw a giant flame before them, except that the flame was more like a giant person. In one hand, it held a stabbing blade, and in the other, a whip of many thongs. On its head were immense horns. For a moment, they both starred at the giant creature with dread and did not move. The monster rolled his head back and roared so loudly, that the ground trembled and rocks fell from the ceiling. Gorluk suddenly screamed, "BALROG!" and with that, he turned and ran. Faroth wasted no time to dash after him.

Instead of running back to the tunnel like they should have done, they ran towards the opposite direction through the giant halls, carved by the ancient Dwarves of long ago. But the Balrog still pursued after them. The ground shook with its stomping, and they ran in terror.

Faroth turned around, and realized that Gorluk was falling behind him. Faroth slowed down until he was running next to him. "Gorluk!" he panted. "Jump onto my back!" Gorluk only glanced at him as he continued running. "What? Are you crazy?!" he shouted. "Gorluk, Orcs ride on Wargs all the time because we're faster runners!" Faroth yelled back. "Trust me!" Gorluk took a deep breath and sprang towards Faroth's back. He landed safely, and Faroth realized that he was surprisingly light. Gorluk clung onto his fur for dear life as Faroth sped down the halls.

The Balrog roared, and Faroth heard its whip snap through the air. At first, Faroth thought that it didn't touch them, but Gorluk suddenly cried out, "Your tail! Your tail is on fire!" Before Faroth could respond, a fiery pain shot through his tail, and he knew that Gorluk was right. "Put it out!" Faroth yelped in agony. Gorluk Quickly smothered the flames from his tail, but his tail was still throbbing. He did not let that slow him down, however.

Gorluk suddenly yanked his fur back. "Stop!" he shouted. Faroth did stop, and he saw that they had come to the edge of a tall cliff. Faroth ran to the left. Up ahead, they saw a few bridges that connected to the other side. "Which bridge should we cross?" Faroth panted to Gorluk. Gorluk pointed towards a small one that seemed to lead towards another tunnel. Faroth ran towards it, and was just about to cross, when Gorluk cried out again "Stop!"

Faroth halted right in front of the bridge, and Gorluk climbed off his back. The Orc pointed towards another bridge fifty yards away from them, and cried out "It's them!" Faroth looked, and saw that it was the travelers that were running across the other bridge. But Faroth also saw that the Balrog had noticed them too, and was chasing after them. As they watched in dread, all of the travelers crossed the bridge safely, except one; the Wizard.

He had his sword out, which gleamed cold and white from a distance. The Balrog stayed at the other end of the bridge and snapped his whip, flames coming from its nostrils. But the Wizard stood firm, and undaunted.

"You cannot pass," Gandalf said. "I am a servant of the secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udun. Go back to the shadow! You cannot pass."

Gorluk and Faroth watched, mouths agape, as the Balrog stepped forward and spread its massive wings. It held up a flaming red sword.

Gandalf's gleamed white in answer.

Within a few seconds, the two swords clashed, and the Balrog fell backwards, its sword broken in pieces.

"You cannot pass!" Gandalf shouted.

And with that, the Wizard thrust his staff to the ground, and the bridge crumbled at the Balrog's feet. With a roar, the Balrog fell into the abyss. Right before Gorluk and Faroth could sigh with relief, a flaming whip shot out from the darkness and wrapped around the Wizard's feet. With a cry, Gandalf was pulled through the cliff, but he grasped vainly at the edge.

"Fly you fools!" he cried, and he let go.

Faroth and Gorluk stood frozen in horror. Was he dead? He had to be.

Faroth nudged Gorluk. "We need to get out of here," he said urgently. Faroth saw Gorluk's face scrunch up like he was about to cry. But he still turned, and together they ran across the bridge, and through the tunnel. Unexpectedly, Faroth felt wind on his face, and for the first time in days, he saw the sky. As soon as they were outside, Gorluk fell to the ground and sobbed.

~0~0~0~

**And that's how the Balrog was awake in the first place… Gosh that part in the movie always makes me cry… *sniff* **

**I have an important announcement: This is the END! **

**(I'm just kidding, I just like the way that Bilbo said that at his birthday party. I will never abandon this story. Never!) **

**What I mean is, I will not be updating for three weeks. The reason is, I will be very busy with testing, writing a testimony for the church, and other things. BUT I still will have enough time to answer review questions/PMs, so don't be shy!**

**_(I guess that some of you have noticed that I did this chapter through Faroth's point of view. Should I do this more often? I need your opinion.)_ **

**~Tatharwen **


	11. The Orc scouts

~0~0~0~

"It was my fault!" Gorluk wailed. "If I hadn't poked that Balrog with a stick, Gandalf would have never died! Does that mean I killed him? I KILLED HIM FAROTH! I KILLED HIM!"

Gorluk moaned and smashed his face against the dirt. He knew that something terrible was bound to happen if they entered Moria, but he would have never imagined that it would come to this. The Wizard had died! Gandalf seemed to Gorluk the most powerful person he had ever seen!

Gorluk's head was buzzing with grief and confusion when Faroth came and sat down next to him. "That wasn't your fault Gorluk," he said in a calm voice. "The only one who had any faults was that Balrog. That monster was the one who had intentions to kill as soon as it woke up, and our intentions were to run for our lives."

Gorluk couldn't fully understand what Faroth was trying to explain, but he knew that Faroth was trying his best to comfort him. "I guess you're right," he sniffed. "C'mon, let's go," Faroth urged, yanking on his sleeve (now wet with tears). "The others might need us."

Gorluk slowly got up and began to walk beside Faroth. He glanced at the tunnel before they left, and noticed that the entrance to the tunnel that they had run out of seemed more like a cave than an entrance. He thought that it could have been a hidden entrance that other Orcs used to get into Moria. Gorluk suddenly realized something; He didn't see any signs of Orcs in Moria. But of course, that was because they were probably far away from where the Balrog slept. But Gorluk began to feel worried. Would the Orcs in Moria become angry at whoever woke up the Balrog and try to track them down for revenge?

"Faroth?" Gorluk asked. "Could you smell any traces of Orcs as we were running out?" Gorluk was startled as the fur on Faroth's back pointed up. "Of course not!" Faroth snapped. "How would I be able to smell something if we were running for our lives!?"

Gorluk's mouth dropped open. What had he said to anger the Warg? Faroth looked up at Gorluk and sighed. "I'm sorry. I just…" Faroth stopped and looked down at his paws. 'Can you keep a secret?" he asked quietly. Gorluk nodded. "Well…" Faroth began. "I lost my sense of smell a long time ago."

Gorluk's eyes widened. "Really?"

Faroth nodded in shame. "That's why I'm such a bad hunter."

Gorluk suddenly remembered when they were in the tunnel. "But what about the time that you said that you were well known for your sense of smell? And when you smelled that fire, er, Balrog?" Gorluk asked with confusion.

Faroth slumped his shoulders. "Well, that's true, but fire is the only thing that I can sense with my nose. My nose is extremely sensitive to ashes, so when my nose tickles, that's most likely it. My nose is so strong, I can detect a small campfire two miles away. My pack would often make me track down campfires if they wanted to…" but then Faroth snapped his jaws shut. Gorluk knew that it was the first time that Faroth had made any mention about his pack to him.

Gorluk tried to change the subject. "How did you loose your sense of smell…" he began, before realizing that he had made a huge mistake.

Faroth immediately stood up and continued walking in silence. Gorluk sadly caught up with him, but none of them talked for quite a while. Gorluk learned that painful memories take time to be shared, ESPECIALY in Faroth's case.

Gorluk suddenly stopped when he heard voices up ahead. Faroth stopped too. They crept slowly and hid underneath the bracken as the voices became closer. Gorluk's heart leaped for joy as he saw the travelers walk by at a swift pace beside a small stream. They watched in silence as they passed them by, until their voices faded in the distance. Gorluk was about to stand up to follow them, when Faroth growled. 'Don't get up just yet," he said through gritted teeth. Gorluk, confused, stayed where he was until he saw what was troubling him. Right down the path, he could see a small and pale creature creeping through; Smeagol. Gorluk stared at him in rage as he crawled past them, unawares. They waited until he was gone, and they stood up immediately.

"That fool tricked us!" Faroth growled in anger, his red eyes blazing. "he showed us the wrong directions, so he could find the travelers himself!"

Gorluk nodded in agreement. He thought silently for a moment, and then said "We have to kill him."

Faroth looked up in shock, knowing that this didn't sound like Gorluk at all. "Why do we need to do that?"

"Because Smeagol knew one of the Halflings somehow, or at least its last name, and said that he hated '_Bagginses_', remember?" Gorluk replied. "Maybe he wants to kill him along with everyone else."

Faroth thought about it. "That does sound like a good explanation… But maybe we should watch him and see what he does first."

Gorluk agreed, and together they walked down the path in pursuit of the travelers, but most of all Smeagol.

Throughout the hours that they walked, Gorluk and Faroth were careful not to be 'discovered' by Smeagol (but that also meant that they had to remain further away from the group). Soon, as the sun began to set, they came closer and closer to a large forest. When it was fully dark, Faroth stopped. "I don't think we should go any further tonight," he said. "With it being this dark, Smeagol is more likely to find us and try to make a run for it."

"But if we stop, the travelers might move on." Gorluk objected. "And the further away they are, the more likely it will be to loose them."

Before Faroth could argue back, they unexpectedly heard many heavy footsteps approaching. They quickly dashed towards the bushes to hide. It was so dark that Gorluk could hardly see a thing, but soon, he could see many darker shadows marching in the distance. They moved at a quick pace, but he could see that they were trying to be as quiet as possible (which wasn't working at all). As they came closer and closer, Gorluk could recognize who they were, which made him sick to his stomach. "Orc scouts," he muttered to Faroth. Gorluk was right after all.

As they passed them by, Gorluk grew afraid that they would be caught. But thankfully, they didn't, and as they left Gorluk was able to count at least twenty. But he knew that Orc scouts usually go in small groups, which meant that there could possibly be a hundred more behind them. "What should we do?" Faroth whispered in a worried tone. Gorluk thought hard for a long time until he thought up a risky plan. "They probably think that the travelers woke up the Balrog, so they've come to pursue them and capture them. When it comes to Orc scouts, almost nothing can stop them…" Gorluk shivered as he thought of the last time he had been an Orc scout. "…Except maybe a few distractions."

Faroth eyes widened. "Do you mean that we should try to divert an entire group of Orcs another direction?"

Gorluk nodded. "I know that it seems like a crazy idea, but it might work… Unless you have a better idea?"

Faroth shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't think of anything better. But how can we do that without them catching _us_?"

Gorluk slowly grinned. "Do you remember when you said that Wargs are faster then Orcs…"

_**Thirty minutes later…**_

"Ready Faroth?" Gorluk whispered.

"This is the strangest idea I've ever heard." Faroth grumbled.

They were standing next to a small stream that cut in front of the path, waiting for the Scouts to come. They had managed to run up ahead of them, and now they were waiting for Gorluk's plan to take action (a plan which Faroth did not like at all).

"I can hear them coming!" Faroth whispered. He was right. Gorluk started to hear the heavy footsteps of twenty Orc scouts approaching. He climbed onto Faroth's back. "Wait until I give the signal," he whispered. Faroth crept away from the path as the Orcs came into view, and waited. Gorluk allowed for them to pass. Faroth looked up at him in confusion, but just as they were about to disappear from sight, Gorluk nudged him by the shoulder. "Now!" he said quickly.

"HEY YOU!" Faroth bellowed to the Orcs. The Orcs whirled their heads around, startled.

"WERE YOU LOOKING FOR ME!?" Faroth roared in his most menacing voice. The Orcs still couldn't see Faroth, but some of them growled in anger and raised their weapons. That was Gorluk's signal. Before any of them could take a step forward to attack, Gorluk quickly set two torches alight and raised them both above his head. The Orcs gasped in horror. "Eyes!" someone shouted in terror. "Red, flaming eyes!"

"MONSTER!" the rest screamed in dread. Most of them dropped their weapons and began to run over the stream, but Faroth quickly circled around and stopped right in front of them. "It's too fast!" one of them wailed. "This way!" their chief ordered, and they all turned around to flee. Gorluk grinned in triumph.

"Chase after them for a while," he whispered to Faroth. Faroth nodded and dashed after them. By the time that they had caught up with them, the Orcs had run into another group of fifty scouts, and were telling them to run for their lives. The Other scouts had laughed as they explained to them the monster, but once they saw Gorluk's torches, they were instantly filled with dread, and sprinted after the other Orcs while crying for help. They continued to chase them for five miles, and finally Faroth stopped. "LEAVE THIS PLACE!" Faroth roared to the fleeing Orcs. "NEVER COME BACK, FOR THIS IS MY TERRITORY!"

Gorluk and Faroth stood still until the cries and screams of the Orcs had died away. As soon as all was silent, they both fell to the ground, bawling with laughter. "It worked!" Gorluk laughed. "I never thought that they would be that afraid!" Faroth was rolling on the ground. "I change my mind; that was the greatest idea ever!" he snickered.

Gorluk stood up. "We must have chased away seventy Orcs at least," he said. "That could have been all of them." Faroth sat up and nodded. "Now that the problem with the Orcs has been dealt with, we can go back to dealing with Smeagol," Faroth said thoughtfully.

Gorluk yawned and stretched. "In the morning," he said. 'We should sleep here for tonight now that this place is Orc-free. I mean, free from bad Orcs at least."

Faroth nodded and fell asleep almost as soon as he closed his eyes. Gorluk leaned his back against a tree and thought about what he had just done. He had planned against his own kind in order to help 'the enemy' escape. He shuddered at the realization that if his captain EVER found out what he did, he would definitely be killed (but he seriously doubted that he ever would).

There was something that Gorluk figured that night: he could never go back to his old life in Mirkwood. But yet, that made Gorluk happier. He thought to himself proudly that he was probably the first Orc to ever switch sides. He glanced at Faroth as the Warg started to snore loudly. Maybe he would be the first Warg to ever switched sides too. Together, they could fight against all evil! But then the thought of fighting made Gorluk shudder even more. _Fighting against evil? Ridiculous!_ he thought to himself. He shook his head and decided that he really needed sleep to clear his head. He closed his eyes and thought of nothing else until morning came.

~0~0~0~

**Thank you to all the people that reviewed, PM-ed, favorited, and followed this story.**

**ANY ideas for what should happen next?**


	12. Thalion and Rumil

.

~0~0~0~

"FAROTH WAKE UP! WAKE UP!"

Faroth awoke and jumped up in alarm right after Gorluk tried to punch him in the stomach for the second time. "What is it? Are we being attacked? Did the Orcs come back?" Faroth asked in fear as he ran around the clearing in circles. Gorluk stood up with his arms crossed. "No." he snapped. "But once the sun came up I tried to wake you, but you were in such a deep sleep I couldn't get a single word out of you. I would have thought that you were dead if you weren't snoring so loudly!"

Faroth bowed his head with embarrassment. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Gorluk frowned and patted Faroth on the head. "That's alright," he said. "We just need an early start. We have five extra miles to walk if we're going to catch up with the group."

Faroth nodded. "You don't have to walk. You can ride on me while I run."

Gorluk grinned. "Good! That way we'll get there faster!"

And so that's how Faroth's morning started, him pelting through the trees, and Gorluk riding on his back and clinging onto his fur for dear life. As the sun rose higher into the sky, Faroth could see the sunlight streak through golden leaves. That made Faroth confused, for he had never seen leaves still in the trees during winter. He began to wander where they could possible be, for he had never gone southwards away from the misty mountains. And he knew that Gorluk didn't know where they were either, for he was from Mirkwood.

It was near noontime by the time Faroth finally stopped to rest. He stopped right next to the stream where they had scared the group of Orcs the night before, so there were footprints scattered everywhere. Faroth sat down panting for air while Gorluk walked around.

As Faroth stood up to drink from the stream, Gorluk stooped over to stare at something. "Look at this!" he called to Faroth. Faroth walked over and watched as Gorluk picked up a strange shiny object. Faroth cocked his head to the side in curiosity. "What is it?" he asked. Gorluk whirled his head around in surprise. "You don't know what a sword is when you see one?"

Faroth shrugged. "I've just never seen one before." That was true. Faroth rarely saw any weapons where he grew up, but when Elves occasionally drove his pack further into the mountains, they would use Bows or spears.

Gorluk wiped the dirt off of it and waved it in the air with admiration. "One of the Orcs must have dropped this last night," he said. He held it up, and they both watched with marvel as it glittered in the sun. The blade shone as if it was made of silver, and the sword hilt was wrapped with leather. "What kind of an Orc would walk around with a thing like that?" Faroth wondered. "Maybe the Orc that carried this had stolen it," Gorluk said. "Either way, I'm going to keep this!"

Gorluk picked up the sword's sheath that had been lying on the ground next to it and tied it to his belt with glee. Also, to Faroth's surprise, he pulled out his small knife from his pocket and dropped it to the ground. "I won't need this anymore," he said.

After a few breaths of air and a drink from the stream, Faroth was ready to move on. Together, Faroth and Gorluk were able to wade across the stream with ease, despite their short height. They had to stop again after they had crossed, for they were soaked, and the air was exceedingly chilly that day. For a long while they sat side by side in the sun, shivering, while they dried. Faroth looked around and noticed that the forest had become thicker with the mysterious golden leaves.

"What country do you think we're in?" he asked Gorluk. Gorluk scratched his head. "I'm not quite sure. I've never gone this far south before," he replied. "Although…" He said in a much quieter tone. "I have heard of a land not far from the mountains that's inhabited by Elves. They say that there's an Elf-witch that rules the land with terrible power…"

Faroth trembled with fright (and cold). Gorluk glanced over and saw the fear on his face. "But I'm sure that it's not true," he said quickly. "It's probably only a myth, after all."

That seemed to calm Faroth down a little, but he was now worried about the forest that they were now in.

Gorluk stood up and stretched. "I'm fully dry now, are you?" he asked. Faroth saw that he was still wet, but he knew that Gorluk was anxious to catch up to the travelers as soon as possible. With a sigh, Faroth stood up and shook a few drops of water off his fur. "Let's go."

Faroth only took a few steps into the forest before he began to get paranoid. Something just didn't feel right about the trees. He didn't know what, but he began to feel like they weren't alone…

"Gorluk," Faroth said, turning to face him. "I have a strange feeling about this place…"

Gorluk's eyes widened. "You can feel that too?"

Faroth nodded gravely. "I think that I should go on for a distance while you stay here and hide."

Gorluk became even more surprised. "No way! If there's something or someone out there, I should be there to protect you!"

"Shhhh! They might hear you!" Faroth whispered. "What if this is the country with the Elves that you were talking about earlier? If an Orc stepped too close to their border, the Orc would get shot! I just want to make sure that we're not too close to that place." After a brief moment of silence he also added "And if I step too close to the border, they'll just think that I'm a dog or something, since I'm pretty small for a Warg."

Gorluk thought about this and finally nodded his head. "I guess that it could be worth a shot. But if you're not back in thirty minutes, then I'll look for you."

Gorluk disappeared to hide before Faroth could ask him how long thirty minutes was (Faroth wasn't even full grown, if you remember). So with a brave face and his tail held up high, he trotted deeper into the trees.

_**Fifteen minutes later…**_

Faroth's confidence had vanished after a few moments. His tail was now between his legs, and his brave face had vanished, replaced with dread. His mind was rushing with thoughts about whether or not to run back. Faroth just couldn't understand why this forest seemed to be watching him…

"DARO!"

Faroth yelped in terror and jumped, nearly doing a summersault in the air. When he landed back onto the ground with a loud thud, he whirled his head around wildly, trying to figure out where the voice had come from.

Strangely, he couldn't see anyone close by. He jumped again when he heard soft laughter coming from the treetops. _That must have been the trees!_, he thought in horror. _These trees are haunted!_

It was true, the voices that Faroth had heard came from the trees, but it wasn't the trees that had made the noise. While Faroth stood still in panic, he didn't notice the two Elves that were sitting in the branches watching him. They had grey hoods that hid their faces, but they were both laughing and talking to each other in their own language.

"Rumil, you didn't have to scare that poor creature!" the first Elf said between giggles. "It looks petrified!"

"I was only doing my job!" Rumil grinned. "You're supposed to warn strangers before they cross the border!"

His friend stopped laughing and narrowed his eyes at Faroth. "What do you think that is, anyway?" he asked. "Is it a dog?"

Rumil shook his head. "No Thalion, that seems more to me like a Wolf, can't you see its teeth? Or maybe it's a Warg…"

"There's no way that's a Warg," Thalion declared. "It looks too small to be one."

Rumil rolled his eyes. "I'm still going to take a closer look," he said. He swung his legs and jumped out of the tree, and Thalion followed.

Meanwhile, Faroth was still shaking with fear, but then froze when he heard footsteps coming. Hoping that it was Gorluk, he turned around to run, but then he saw the two Elves standing in his way. Faroth knew that it was no use to run. He had enough experience to know that Elves are surprisingly fast when pursuing enemies, and they can shoot Arrows at great distances, even at moving targets. Seeing that it was no use to escape, Faroth stood still and waited to see what would happen. One of them spoke to the other, but he couldn't understand them. In Faroth's mind, they were probably talking about whether or not to kill him.

But thankfully, that was the last thing on their minds. "I told you that it was a dog," Thalion said. "If it was a wolf, then it would try to attack us."

Rumil scratched his head. "But I still think that it's a Wolf! Maybe the Men down south tamed it somehow."

Rumil slowly reached out his hand towards Faroth. Faroth thought that the Elf was going to strangle him, but became confused when the Elf patted him on the head instead. "Wolf or dog, I think that it's kinda cute," Rumil said. Thalion nodded and also patted Faroth.

Faroth stared up at the Elves incredulously. He had expected for them to kill him… So why were they patting him on the head and talking to him with affectionate voices? But then he figured it out. _They must think that I'm cute or something,_ he thought. So he did his best to make himself look friendly. He wagged his tail, smiled, all while saying in his head _don't kill me don't kill me don't kill meee... _

"Maybe it got lost from its master," Thalion said. "It would be nice if we could keep it."

"That's a great idea!" Rumil exclaimed. "We could take it back to Caras Galadhon and show it to my brother Haldir! He's been out of Lothlorien before, so maybe he could tell us what it is."

Faroth didn't understand what they were saying, but he knew what the Elves were up to when they tied a rope around his neck. _They're capturing me, _he thought dismally. He was thankful that they weren't going to kill him (not yet at least), but he became worried about where they were going to take him. In the back of his mind, he remembered the Elf witch that Gorluk had mentioned earlier that morning. Was it possible that they were going to take him to HER?

Faroth slumped his shoulders and trotted alongside the Elves gloomily as they began to walk deeper into Lothlorien.

~0~0~0~

**I apologize for not updating for three weeks… I've been on vacation.**

**I guess that it's time that I answer a question that has been asked ever since I posted the third chapter… **_**"when will Gorluk be discovered by the Fellowship?"**_** I will answer this the best I can without giving anything away.**

**Only one person in the Fellowship will find out about Gorluk first, some time during or after chapter sixteen, but I won't tell you who it will be (I'm just kidding, his name starts with a G!) and he won't tell the rest of the fellowship about Gorluk, so everyone else has to find out about him for themselves. The rest of the Fellowship will find out about him MUCH later, so be VERY patient!**

**I hope that answers the question, but you can ask me more specifically if this confuses you.**

**HAVE A NICE DAY,**

_**Tatharwen**_

**(P.s., Has anyone seen the movie preview for the desolation of Smaug yet? It's sooo great!) **


	13. Haldir's new pet

~0~0~0~

Hours had now passed since Faroth was 'captured' by the two Elves. They were going along at a slow pace, and the sky was starting to get dark. While Faroth gloomily marched alongside Thalion and Rumil, the Elves talked to one another.

"So why is your brother at Caras Galadhon?" Thalion asked Rumil. "Haldir rarely misses a day on guard duty!"

Rumil shrugged. "There was a group of strangers that came to the border last night. I think that they came to seek refuge and talk to the lord and Lady, so Haldir had to lead the strangers to them, since he's the only one that could speak in their language."

Thalion's eyes widened in surprise. "Not many strangers have ever been given permission to talk to the lord and lady, let alone cross the border! Tell me, did you see what they looked like?"

"I sure did!" Rumil laughed. "It was the strangest group I've ever seen! There were eight of them in all. Two were men, One Boromir from Gondor, and the other, Aragorn…"

"Aragorn?" Thalion gasped, interrupting Rumil. "It's been nearly forty years since he's been here!"

"Yes, I know that…" Rumil muttered, but then he continued. "The next one was an Elf, Prince Legolas of the Woodland realm…"

"Legolas?!" Thalion exclaimed in shock, interrupting Rumil again. "None of his people have ever been here before!"

"Will you let me finish first?" Rumil growled through gritted teeth. Thalion shut his mouth, and after a few moments, Rumil continued.

"And then the next four were really unusual. They were HALFLINGS!"

Thalion sucked in his breath and nodded, but remained silent.

"I think that the last one was the most unusual. I didn't believe it when my brother Orophin told me who it was, until I saw him myself…"

"Who was it!?" Thalion demanded, growing impatient.

"It was…" Rumil said slowly, but he was trying hard to contain himself from laughing. "It was…"

"TELL ME WHO IT WAS!" Thalion screeched. He grabbed Rumil's shoulders and began to shake him violently. "TELL ME!"

"OK, OK!" Rumil yelled. "IT WAS A DWARF!"

Thalion stood still for a few moments. "Are you sure?" he asked slowly. Rumil nodded.

A few moments of silence passed. But then, the two Elves fell to the ground, laughing hysterically.

"WHY WOULD A *Elvish curse-word* DWARF WALK INTO LOTHLORIEN?!" Thalion cried out with laughter.

"I CAN JUST IMAGINE LORD CELEBORN'S FACE WHEN HE FINDS OUT!" Rumil choked.

That made the Elves laugh harder, so all Faroth could do was stand by them as they rolled on the grass, trying to breath. Faroth sighed and shook his head. _Elves _he thought to himself disdainfully.

"Oh!" Thalion said sitting up. "I think we're here."

Faroth saw the Elf point, so he turned his head to where he was pointing. Some distance away, Faroth saw a large green wall that surrounded a large hill, hidden behind many tall trees. Within the branches of the trees were gleaming lights, some gold, some silver, and some that were even green. For a moment, Faroth stood still in awe. This place was unlike anything he had seen before…

"We better move on then," Rumil said, standing up. He picked up Faroth's rope and nudged him forward. "C'mon Anca!"

"Anca?" Thalion asked, confused.

"That's the name I gave him," Rumil replied. "'Anca' is Sindarin for 'jaws'."

Thalion frowned. "But I wanted for his name to be 'Carch', which is Sindarin for 'fang'!"

"Carch? That's a terrible name!"

"At least it's not as bad as Anca! That sounds like a female name!"

Rumil glared at Thalion. "We can have Haldir judge this matter when we get there," he said gravely.

The two Elves began to move quickly towards the wall, almost dragging Faroth until he caught up to their pace. They eventually led Faroth towards a path covered with white stones that went right next to the wall. They followed the path only for a few minutes until Faroth saw a small white bridge in the distance that arched over a small stream.

When they approached the bridge, Rumil handed Faroth's rope to Thalion and crossed over the bridge. He knocked on the door and whispered what appeared to be a secret password, and stepped back. The door swung open silently, and they all walked through. When Faroth turned around to watch the doors close behind them, he realized that no one was there, and that the doors had opened and closed on their own.

Looking ahead, Faroth saw many trees with shinning lights, but he could hear voices all around them, including voices that were singing. For a while, Faroth walked by the two Elves in an enchantment, stunned by the lands brilliance. They walked by many fountains, climbed some stairs, and passed through many lawns covered with golden flowers.

After they climbed over a long flight of stairs, the two Elves stopped, and Faroth snapped out of his trance. Before them was a large courtyard, and at one corner stood the mightiest tree that Faroth had ever seen. Next to that was a large white ladder that was guarded by three Elves.

"The Lord and Lady are up there," Thalion said. "So where's Haldir?"

"RUMIIIL!" an angry voice bellowed from behind. Faroth nearly jumped out of his own skin.

"That must be him!" Rumil grinned.

The two Elves turned around, and Faroth saw a tall Elf stomping up the stairs in a rage. He had his hood thrown back, so they could all see that he had his eyes fixed on his younger brother.

"Hello brother!" Rumil waved to him as he reached the top of the stairs. "We need to ask you an important question…"

"Which would be a better name for it? Anca or Carch?" Thalion said, pointing at Faroth.

Haldir ignored them and stormed towards Rumil. "What are you doing here?" he demanded. "You're supposed to be at your guard posts!"

"I know, but we found this in the woods!" Rumil said, pointing in Faroth's direction.

"We thought that it was lost because it was tame, so we decided to bring him to you in case you might know what it is, and where it came from…" Thalion said, trying to back up his friend.

"Because we can't tell whether it's a wolf or a dog…" Rumil added.

Haldir stood silent for a few moments and calmed down a little. "So… That's the ONLY reason you left your guard posts?"

Both of the Elves nodded.

Haldir sighed. "Alright. I'll try to figure out what it is and where it came from, but after I do that, you must report back to your guard posts IMMEDIATELY. Understand?"

The two Elves nodded vigorously, and stepped out of the way to let Haldir have a look at Faroth. He knelt down until they were both at eye-level, and Haldir studied him closely. Faroth looked right back at him, but began to feel afraid.

"Hmmm… Even though he's large he's actually very young," Haldir said. "I don't think he's even full grown yet."

"Not full grown?!" the two Elves gasped at the same time.

Even though Faroth couldn't understand them, he could tell that they were talking about him. He looked down at his paws and squirmed uncomfortably.

"Thalion and I think that he might have been raised by the men down south," Rumil said. "But yet, he showed up from the NORTH, so that's why we're not sure where it came from…"

"I wonder if it knows a few words in the common language…" Haldir said out loud to himself. He stood up and stepped back from Faroth.

"Roll over!" he said in a commanding tone. Faroth jerked his head up, surprised to hear his own language for the first time coming from an Elf, but did as he was ordered immediately.

Rumil and Thalion cried out in surprise. "I didn't know that it could do that!" Rumil gasped.

"Tell it to do something else!" Thalion said with excitement.

"Sit!" Haldir ordered again. Faroth did exactly what he said. He even began to wag his tail, happy that he was finally able to communicate to someone around here.

"Ooooh, I know a word in common speech that he might understand!" Rumil said. He knelt in front of Faroth and held out his hand. "Shake!"

Faroth could barely understand him because of his thick accent, but he began to shake his fur like he had just jumped out of a lake.

All three of the Elves laughed. "He's so smart!" Thalion said.

"Ask it a question!" Rumil said. Thalion and Haldir stopped laughing. "Rumil, there's no way that it can fully understand every word in the common language!" Thalion said. "It was only trained to understand a few words!"

Haldir made no reply, but turned towards Faroth. "Can you… Understand everything I just said?" he asked him in the Common language.

To everyone's shock, Faroth smiled and nodded happily. Thalion stepped back. "There's no way…" he said slowly.

"Ask it something else!" Rumil said in anticipation.

Haldir sighed, and knelt in front of Faroth again. "I'm sorry that you've had to deal with these two for such a long period of time. You're lucky that you only had to deal with them for a few hours, for I've put up with them for a thousand years now…" Faroth nodded and gave him a look of understanding.

"What did Haldir just tell it?" Thalion whispered to Rumil. Rumil shrugged.

"Were you lost in the woods when they found you?" Haldir asked Faroth. Faroth nodded.

Haldir thought for a moment, and then asked, "Do you remember where you came from?" Faroth looked around and pointed his nose to the northwest.

"You came from the mountains?" Haldir asked. Faroth nodded vigorously.

Haldir stood up and faced Rumil and Thalion. "He came from the Misty Mountains," he told them. "Ask him what it is!" Rumil said. "We still don't know if it's a dog or a wolf!"

Haldir knelt in front of Faroth and looked at him directly in the eye. "I want for you to be honest with me," he said in a stern tone. "They want to know if you're a dog or a wolf, but I don't think that you're either. Tell me, are you a Warg?"

Faroth's blood nearly froze, and he didn't move. If he told them that he was a Warg, wouldn't they kill him then? Faroth looked down and whimpered.

Haldir seemed to read Faroth's mind. Slowly, he reached out and patted him on the head. "We are not enemies here, I promise you. You are young, and yet I can see in you a great kindness that I have never seen in any other Warg before. In Lothlorien, my people would never judge a gentle heart."

Faroth looked up at him in surprise. He had always known for Elves to attack his pack, which meant that he thought that Elves were wicked. But right then, his view of Elves changed quickly.

Haldir stood up and turned to his brother. "He's a Wolf," He said. Rumil turned to Thalion. "I told you!" he yelled in his ear.

Haldir sighed. "Now go back to you're posts right now."

"But who will take care of him while we're gone?" Rumil asked.

"I will, unless he wishes to leave," Haldir replied. "I'll be here for a few days, so if he's still here by the time I'm gone, THEN you can take care of him. NOW GO!"

Rumil and Thalion patted Faroth on the head in farewell, and then disappeared down the stairs while Thalion rubbed his ear.

Haldir waited until they were gone before turning towards Faroth. "You can wonder freely throughout Lothlorien, but you can leave anytime you wish, if you do not want to stay." Haldir turned and walked away, but Faroth ran after him and trotted alongside him. Right now, he was so happy…. That he completely forgot about Gorluk...

_**Meanwhile near the northern border…**_

During the time that Faroth was with the two Elves, Gorluk had patiently waited for him to return. But after he had been gone for thirty minutes, Gorluk had become worried. Knowing that he had to look for him, Gorluk had come out of his hiding spot. But right before he took a step towards the border, he became lucky; for he saw five Elves walk by on patrol. That was when Gorluk understood that this place WAS the mythical land of Elves, and that Faroth had probably been captured.

Gorluk had dashed back to his hiding spot and began to think up a plan (even though most of his plans in the past never worked out too well).

It was nightfall (around the same time that Faroth had passed the gate into Caras Galadhon), that Gorluk decided to take his plan into action. He stood up out of his hiding spot, and slowly walked towards the border. When he was five feet away from the border, he pulled out his sword and threw it to the ground.

"I surrender!" he called out, holding his hands up.

Immediately after he said this, an Arrow shot out from the branches and missed his head by two inches. He didn't know if the Guards had missed him, or if it was a warning shot, but he still got the message.

"OK, OK!" he cried out in fear, fleeing away. "I'M LEAVING!"

He sprinted away as far as he could go, and then stopped to catch his breath. _That plan didn't work at all!_, he thought to himself. How was he possibly going to save Faroth now?

_**To be continued…**_

~0~0~0~

**ANY IDEAS?**

_**~Tatharwen**_


End file.
